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Pacquiao battles Japanese in three-round exhibition

Sports | Boxing

Pacquiao battles Japanese in three-round exhibition

By Mark Rey Montejo

At A Glance

Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao will strut his wares once again as he battles Japanese MMA fighter Chihiro Suzuki in a three-round exhibition bout next month.

Boxing icon Manny Pacquiao will strut his wares once again as he battles Japanese MMA fighter Chihiro Suzuki in a three-round exhibition bout next month.

The match between the former eight-division world boxing champion and Suzuki is set for three minutes per round and will be held on July 28 at the Saitama Super Arena in Japan.

Pacquiao, 45, will finally step into the ring after his exhibition bout against Muay Thai legend Buakaw Banchamek was cancelled last February.

“Finally next month I'm fighting here in Japan, and I hope everybody will watch,” Pacquiao announced.

“This is gonna be a good fight,” he added.

On the other hand, Suzuki is a professional MMA fighter, who holds the RIZIN featherweight title with 13-0-3 record along with seven triumphs via TKO.

The 25-year-old of Peruvian descent stressed that he will knock out Pacquiao as early as the opening round.

"With all due respect, I'm going to knock you out in the first round,” said Suzuki.

"I will let him know that boxing is harder than MMA,” Pacquiao responded.

This will be the second time for Pacquiao to face an MMA fighter after his dominant win over South Korean DK Yoo last December 2022.

The pride of General Santos City competed in his last professional bout three years ago when he surrendered his WBA super welterweight belt to Cuban Yordenis Ugas via unanimous decision.

After a month, Pacquiao announced his retirement from boxing as he ran for presidency.

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Manny Pacquiao

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